Rail-chair.



A. G. LIBBMANN.

BAIL CHAIR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 13, 1914.

Patented Jan. 26, 1915.

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0.. WASHINGTON, D- C.

UNTTED TAT;ES PATENT @FFTQE.

AUGUST e. LIEBMANN, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO VIGNOLES BAILCHAIR comranr, or new roan, n. r, a oonronerion or DELAWARE.

RAIL-CHAIR.

Application filed. May 13, 1914.

T 0 all whom it may con cern Be it known that I, AUGUST G. LIEB- nmxx, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cookand State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Rail-Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a railway track appliance and particularly torail chairs.

The main object of the present invention is to provide a cheap railchair so constructed that the rail may readily be adjusted laterallythereon and held in laterally adjusted position and also so formed thatthe rail may be elevated upon shims.

A fur her object of the invention is to so form the base-plate of thechair that it may be readily and cheaply formed from a rolled sectionhaving an approximate form of a channel-iron, the base plate being soformed to provide oppositely disposed parallel abutments, theseabutments being disposed at acute angles to the short axis of the baseplate, as shown.

A further object is to provide a rail chair so formed that the chairwill reinforce and support the screw spikes used therein by not onlydirectly supporting the screw spikes but also by resisting lateralpressure or thrust of the rail upon the screw spikes.

A further object of the invention is to so design the chair that it willbe extremely simple and that very few pieces will be required to formthe complete chair.

A further object of the invention is to so construct the chair that therail may be adjusted without the necessity of removing or changing theprimary fastenings holding the chair upon the tie.

Other objects will appear inthe course of the following description.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a, perspective view of a tie, a rail and the improved railchair thereon. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the construction shown inFig. 1. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the rail chair, the rail and aportion of the rail chair being in section.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawingsby the same reference characters. q

Referring to these drawings, A repre- Specification of Letters Fatent.

Patented J an. $26, 1915..

Serial No. 838,371.

sents a rail having a standard cross section and B a tie supporting therail. Disposed upon the tie is a substantially rhomboidal bedplate 2having a width approximately equal to that of the tie and havingupturned marginal flanges 3 at opposite ends. These flanges, asillustrated in Fig. 2, extend at an angle to the short axis of thebedplate and therefore at an angle to the rail A. The flanges areparallel to each other. Disposed inward of the flanges 3 are theabutments 4. These abutments are spaced from the flanges but extend inthe same direction and are parallel thereto. The abutments, as shown inFig. 3, are higher than the flanges 3. The bedplate 2 is held to the tieby means of the screw-spikes 5. Each screw-spike is formed intermediateits ends with a shoulder 6 designed to bear upon the upper face of thebaseplate, and below the shoulder 6 each spike is formed with woodscrew-threads 7 for engagement with the tie. Above the shoulder (1',each spike is screw-threaded as at 8 for engagement with the nuts 9.These screw-spikes are inserted between the flanges 8 and the abutments4 as shown clearly in Fig. 2.

The rail A is held in place between the abutments 4 for lateraladjustment therebetween by the rail engaging members 10.

Each of these rail engaging members has a wedge-like portion which isdisposed between the edge of the base flange of the rail and thecorresponding abutment and also has a portion which extends over thebase flange 3, and a portion which extends over the correspondingabutment and through which each screw-spike passes.

In detail, each rail engaging member comprises a body portion 10 havinga web 11 extending over the upper face of the rail base and a taperedwedging portion 12, the outer face of which bears against the adjacentface of the corresponding abutment and the inner face 13 hearing againstthe edge of the rail base. From the body portion of the rail engagingmember at its upper end extends outwardly a web 14 which is grooved asat 15 for the reception of the upper edge of the corresponding abutment.This web 14 is adapted to bear upon the upper edge of the flange 3. Theweb 14 is longitudinally slotted as at 16, this slot extending parallelto the outer edge face of the web 14, this edge face being parallel tothe wall or flange 3. The spikes 5 extend loosely through the slots 16.

It will now be obvious that by shifting one of the rail engaging membersin one direction and the other in the opposite di rection, that the railmay be laterally adjusted and that the rail engaging members may beclamped tightly in wedging engagement with the rail and with theabutments 4. It Will also be obvious that by shifting one of the railengaging members in one direction and driving the other rail engagingmember up, that the rail may be shifted upon the bedplate. Inasmuch asthe space between the abutments is relatively wide a maximum of lateraladjustment of the rail to gage may be accomplished.

The rail A may be vertically adjusted by inserting a shim or shimsbetween the base of the rail and the bedplate, one of these shims beingindicated by the numeral 17. The spikes 5 project sufficiently above thebase plate to permit nuts 9 to be turned up upon the portion 8 and thuspermit of the elevation of the rail clamping members. Of course, thiselevation cannot be extreme without also placing a shim under the outeredge of the rail clamp between the rail clamp and the top of the shortabutment or flange. This will permit any required amount of verticaladjustment to the rail.

The object of providing the inner flanges 4iconstituting the abutmentsis to brace the rail clamps against the lateral thrust of the rail andresist any thrust directly to the spikes. The outer flanges 3 reinforcethe shoulders 6 of the spikes and prevent any bending of the spikes bythe thrust of the rail clamps. It will be seen that the rail clampsextend over the flanges 3 and 4 and protect these flanges in case ofderailment and also protect the spike. It is to be particularly noted inthis case that by forming a length of channel-iron with the flanges 3and 4 which structural element may be readily formed by rolling, andthen by cutting the channel-iron so formed at intervals diagonally tothe side edges of the channeliron, these base-plates or bedplates whichare provided with lateral flanges extending at an angle to the line oithe rail supported upon the bedplate can be secured at a very reasonablecost. Thus it requires no special mechanism for the construction ofthese bedplates other than the usual appliances in rolling mills andsaid bed plates may be constructed very cheaply. The rail clamps 10 mayalso be made of rolled material. The chair described has only threepieces exclusive of the spikes and nuts. The adjustment of the wedgingrail clamps may be easily accomplished by a section hand without the aidof any other tools except the or in ry rackman nch or j t ng the Wedgingclamps Thus, it is an easy matter to adjust the rails to gage. Inasmuchas in order to adjust the rails to gage and in order to shim the rails,it is not nec essary to remove the primary fastenings of the rail chair,it is obvious that this adj ustment of the rails may be made with aminimum of labor and without the necessity of removing or changing theprimary fastenings.

One of the great objections to the present method of holding rails toties is due to the fact that any change in the adjustment of the railrequires respiking of the ties. As a consequence, these ties last but arelatively short time and soon become spike killed and have to berenewed. It is for this reason that it is economically impracticable forrailroads to use treated ties. These treated ties where they are notoften respiked will last very much longer than the untreated tie but theconstant re-spiking of these ties renders them shortly of no value andthey have to be renewed. The improved rail chair may be applied to a tiewhich would ordinarily be thrown away because of its being spike killedand sufficient additional life may be secured over a much spiked andprematurely renewed tie to pay for the initial cost of the chair.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is:

1. In a rail chair, a base-plate formed at its extremities with upwardlyextending flanges and inward of said flanges being formed with parallelabutments, the abutments and flanges extending parallel to each otherbut at an angle to the short axis of the base-plate, rail clampingmembers disposed upon .aid abutments and flanges, each member having aportion extending over the base flange of a rail and a wedging portionextending between the base flange of the rail and the correspondingabutment, each wedging member having a portion bridging the spacebetween the abutment and its corresponding flange, this portion beinglongitudinally slotted, and fastening devices passing through thebase-plate and through said slots.

2. In a rail chair, a base-plate formed at its extremities with upwardlyextending flanges and inward of said flanges being formed with parallelabutments, the abutments and flanges extending parallel to each otherbut at an angle to the short axis of the base-plate, rail clampingmembers disposed upon said abutments and flanges, each member having aportion extending over the base flange of a rail and a wedging portionextending between the base flange of the rail and the correspondingabutment, each wedging member having a portion bridging the spacebetween the abutment and its corre- $p0nd ng"'fit inge, t is portion beig long tudinally slotted, screw spikes extending through the base-plateand having a shoulder bearing thereon, each screw-spike extending upthrough the slot in the clamping member, and nuts engaging the upwardlyprojecting portions of the screw-spike.

3. A rail chair including a substantially rhomboidal base plate havingspaced pairs of upstanding flanges of different heights, the innerflange of each pair constituting an abutment, rail clamping deviceshaving wedging faces bearing against the inner faces of the abutinentsand provided with lips for engagement with the base of a rail, andfastening devices disposed between the flanges of each pair for holdingthe rail clamping devices in adjusted position.

4. In a rail chair, a base-plate having oppositely disposed parallelabutments and flanges extending parallel to said abutments, railclamping members, fastening devices passing through the rail clampingmembers and the base-plate and disposed each in the space between anabutment and the corresponding flange, said fastening devices havingheads bearing against the baseplate each having a width substantiallyequal to the space between the abutment and the flange.

5. A rail chair including a base plate having spaced pairs of upstandingflanges, one of the flanges of each pair being higher than the other andconstituting an abutment, rail clamping devices having wedging facesengaging the abutments, and a fastening device disposed between theflanges of each pair and engaging the adjacent rail clamping device.

6. A rail chair including a base plate having spaced flanges ofdifferent heights, one of which constitutes an abutment, a rail clampingdevice bearing against the abutment and having a portion thereofextending over the adjacent flange, and means disposed between theflanges for holding the rail clamping device in adjusted position.

7. A rail chair including a base-plate having spaced upstanding flangesof different heights, one of which constitutes an abutment, a railclamping device having a wedging face bearing against the abutment andprovided with an extension adapted to rest on the upper edge of theadjacent flange, and means disposed between said flanges for holding therail clamping device in adjusted position.

8. The combination with a rail, of a chair including a base plate havingspaced upstanding flanges of different heights, one of which constitutesan abutment, the inner face of the abutment being disposed at an angleto the longitudinal edge of the rail, a rail clamping device having awedging face engaging the inner face of the abutment and provided with aclamping lip for contact with the base of the rail, said rail clampingdevice being adjustable longitudinally of the flanges and having aportion thereof adapted to bear against the outer flange, and meansdisposed between said flanges for holding the rail clamping device inadjusted position.

9. A rail chair including a base plate having spaced pairs of upstandingflanges, one flange of each pair being higher than the adjacent flangeand constituting an abutment, rail clamping devices adjustabletransversely and vertically of the base plate and bearing against theabutments, said clamping devices being provided with slots, screw-spikesextending upwardly through the base plate between the flanges and projecting through the rail clamping devices, and nuts threaded on saidscrew-spikes and bearing against the rail clamping devices for holdingsaid devices in adjusted position.

10. A rail chair including a base plate formed with spaced pairs ofupstanding flanges, one of the flanges of each pair being higher thanthe other and constituting an abutment, rail clamping devices adjustabletransversely of the base plate and bearing against the abutments, saidrail clamping devices being adjustable vertically of the abutments topermit the insertion of a shim between the outer flanges and theclamping members, and means disposed between the flanges of each pairand extending through the adjacent clamping devices for holding thelatter in adjusted position.

11. A rail chair including a base plate having spaced pairs ofupstanding flanges, the inner flange of each pair being higher than theouter flange and constituting an abutment, said abutments being disposedat an angle to the short axis of the base plate, rail clamping deviceshaving grooves formed in the lower faces thereof for the reception ofthe abutments, and means disposed between the flanges and engaging theclamping devices for holding said clamping devices in adjusted position.

12. The combination with a rail, of a chair including a base platehaving spaced pairs of upstanding flanges, the inner flange of each pairbeing higher than the outer flange and constituting an abutment, saidabutments being disposed at an angle to the longitudinal edge of therail, clamping devices bearing against the inner faces of the abutmentsand having their inner ends provided with lips for contact with the baseof the rail and their outer ends provided with extensions adapted torest on the outer flanges, and a fastening device disposed between theflanges of each pair and engaging the adjacent rail clamping device forholding'said rail clamping devices in adjusted position.

13. A rail chair including a base plate having spaced upstanding flangesof diflerant heights, one of which constitutes an abutment, the innerface of said abutment being disposed at an acute angle to the short aXisof the base plate, and a rail clamping device having a wedging face forengagement with the inner face of the abutment and provided with agroove adapted to receive said abutment, said rail clamping devicehaving an extension adapted to rest on the outer flange, and a fasteningdevice disposed between said flanges and engaging the rail clampingdevice for holding the latter in adjusted position.

let. The combination with a rail, of a chair including a base platehaving spaced upstanding flanges of diflerent heights, the inner flangebeing higher than the outer flange and constituting an abutment, theinner face of the abutment being disposed at an angle to the adjacentlongitudinal edge of the rail, a rail clamping member having a wedgingface bearing against the abutment and provided with a straight shoulderdefining a lip for contact with the base of the rail, said rail clampingmemher being provided with an extension adapted to bear against theouter face of the abutment and the upper longitudinal edge of theadjacent flange, respectively,

and means for holding the rail clamping member in position.

15. The combination with a base plate having spaced pairs of upstandingflanges of diii'erent heights, the inner flange of each pairconstituting an abutment, of a rail resting directly on the base plateor a shim between said pairs of flanges, screwspikes extending throughthe base plate between each pair of flanges and having a shoulderresting on the base plate and bearing against the flanges, rail clampingdevices having wedging faces bearing against the inner faces of theabutments and provided with lips for engagementwith the base of therail, said rail clamping devices being provided with extensions adaptedto bear against the upper longitudinal edges of the short flanges andprovided with slots adapted to receive the adjacent screwspikes, andclamping nuts carried by the screw-spikes and engaging the adjacent railclamping devices.

In testimony whereof I my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUST G. LIEBMANN.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, I). G.

